I'm not sure how I feel about it. His dad seems to be the pushing force behind this for one. He is young enough that it could be damaging him as he is not done growing yet.

I train my daughter in the gym as well , but she never goes heavy. Almost all her work is machine. I feel she should be older for free weights. That puts more balance and stress on her joints.

I agree with you here. If I have a son(or daughter) I will teach him to train mostly free of weights until highschool. They can be plenty healthy and improve their abilities without weights up into their teens. I dont think its natural.